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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk finally broke his silence over the Starship SN9 explosion on February 2. Responding to a user on Twitter, Musk admitted that they were “too dumb” to fire just two engines for landing. Elaborating further, he said that next time they would try the “pull up” method.
Space X’s second full test flight of its spacecraft launched on February 2 and saw SN9 travel a few miles in the air. The vehicle hovered for a moment, then performed a belly flop-like maneuver on the descent before making an explosive landing in the locking cushion. Later reports claimed that one of its two Raptor engines failed to reignite before returning to the ground, causing SN9 to move too fast for a safe landing.
The question was asked by a Twitter user by the name of “Madoverlord”. In a tweet to Musk, he asked why only two engines were on when landing. “Why not turn on all 3, do the flip, then pick the best two and turn the other off?” he added. In response to this, Musk wrote, “We were all too stupid.”
Read: SpaceX spacecraft prototype rocket explodes on landing, FAA to oversee investigation
Read: SpaceX’s second spacecraft test flight ends with another Kaboom
FAA launches investigation
As SpaceX’s second full test flight of its futuristic bullet-shaped spacecraft ended with another hard landing on February 2, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would oversee an investigation into the incident. Elon Musk’s company launched its latest prototype spacecraft from the southeastern tip of Texas two months after the previous test ended in an equally explosive flop. The destroyed vehicle, SpaceX’s Starship SN9, was one of the earliest prototypes of a rocket the company hopes will transport the first humans to the Red Planet.
On Tuesday, the rocket was launched on a high-altitude test flight and it had traveled a few miles in the air. The vehicle hovered for a moment, then performed a belly flop maneuver on the descent before making an explosive landing in the locking cushion. Following the failed launch, the FAA said its top priority in regulating commercial space transportation was to ensure safe operations, even in the event of an anomaly.
Read: Starship SN9 cleaned up by FAA; Elon Musk brings SN10 instead; Read details
Read: SpaceX’s second spacecraft test flight ends with another Kaboom
Image source: AP
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